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NDTV moves Supreme Court against govt order to go off air on November 9
News network NDTV has approached the Supreme Court against a controversial central government notice ordering its Hindi channel, NDTV India, off the air for a day, one of the group’s top directors tweeted on Monday.
News network NDTV has approached the Supreme Court against a controversial central government notice ordering its Hindi channel, NDTV India, off the air for a day, one of the group’s top directors tweeted on Monday.
“#NDTVBanned - @NDTV moves Supreme Court against Wednesday ban on @ndtvindia,” tweeted Suparna Singh, director of strategy at NDTV and managing editor of NDTV.com.
NDTV India was asked to go off the air on November 9 after the government said the channel revealed sensitive details during its coverage of a militant attack on the Pathankot airbase in January.
This crucial information could have been readily picked up by the militants’ handlers and jeopardised national security, the information and broadcasting ministry said.
Read | Why was NDTV India banned and what does the law say?
This was the first time a channel was asked to stop broadcasting over concerns about national security.
But the order has been widely panned with activists, journalists and opposition politicians accusing the BJP-led government of singling out NDTV and muzzling free speech. Many of them have also dubbed the order a return of the “Emergency-era” curbs on the press .
But the government has defended the action, saying many other channels were banned in the past and that free speech couldn’t be absolute or override national security.
Read | NDTV India ban: There’s a rise in number of cases where media is the target
